Babysitting duty
by fanmind
Summary: Sabo looks after the children of a marine soldier who helps the revolutionaries.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I will say this once. Eichiro Oda owns One Piece, and all its characters. I own only the OC:s in this story.

* * *

Chapter 1

"Dragon has a mission for me?!" The rude awakening the blonde had received was a past incident. Sabo jumped out of bed and faced his early guest. "What is it?"

"You´ll have to ask him," Bunny Joe replied.

He found a shirt and pair of pants, amongst the clothes spread out on the floor. His blue coat was hanging safely and unwrinkled at the closet door.

"Yesterday´s clothes?" Joe asked.

"No. The day before."

"Hm."

"Where is he?" Sabo opened the window, and the wind ruffled his hair. As usual in Baltigo, there was some activity at the ground below - various people working out, performing cleaning duties, or just strolling around while declaring their opinion on the lousy weather or the even worse government.

He looked longingly at the ships in the harbor, and the sea beyond. Maybe he would get to travel somewhere, for this mission. He didn´t mind Baltigo, but a little change wouldn´t hurt.

"At the office. He´s waiting." Joe saw where he was looking. "I wouldn´t put my hopes up. Many of our soldiers are out already."

"I know. I´m not." He pulled a hand through his hair, messing it to perfection, before finally putting his hat on.

* * *

Five minutes later, he was standing in front of the leader of the revolutionaries.

"Good morning." Dragon looked inept in front of a desk filled with papers and books. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and constantly made small movements, as if sitting still made him restless.

"Hi."

"A ship arrived yesterday," Dragon said.

"I know that."

"We got guests too. A former marine have joined our cause."

"What?! Is this a joke?"

"In exchange for safe shelter, he has brought information for us. Secret, of course."

"He´s a spy."

Dragon smiled. "No. He didn´t come alone. His family came with him."

"His family?"

"Four children. Betweem 7 and 13 years old. He wouldn´t risk taking them here if he was infact an enemy."

"Maybe he wants to gain our trust."

"It´s good to be suspicious. But trust me on this one."

"Yeah, okay." Sabo shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"

"While the ex-marine works with us, his children needs looking after."

"You´re ordering me to babysit?"

"I´m not ordering, I´m requesting."

"Then I deny. They´re old enough to look after themselves." Dragon stared at him, until he was getting nervous. He slowly backed towards the door. "I´ve got training to do, so…"

"You´re free to leave." Dragon nodded his head once.

"Thanks." Sabo fumbled behind him to find the door knob. All the while, the intimidating gaze of the head revolutionary rested on him, making him feel uneasy. After closing the door behind him, he took a few calming breaths, before making his way to the dining hall.

* * *

In the revolutionary army, eceryone was equal and the same, but during meal time, an informal order was established. The dining hall consisted of several, round tables, each consisting of between 5 and 10 seats. You were never to sit alone. If you did, everyone would assume you had a bad day, and basically avoid you until the next meal. Sabo had never eaten alone once.

The other thing you ought to know is the placing. The researchers, the soldiers, the higher-ups all have different areas. It is just the way it is, Sabo had always presumed.

Without thinking, he turned right towards the tables closest to the windows. Only one of the soldier tables was occupied, by earlyrising men and fishmen , who greeted him heartily as he pulled a chair from another table to join them.

"Good morning," he muttered in response. His comrades could sense his bad mood. It brought the earlier excitement down a few notches, and a tense silence appeared. This is why people eat alone, Sabo thought.

"What's up?" One of the men asked him after a while.

"Nothing," he answered. "Just a stupid mission. Anyone wanna go workout at the cove today?"

The question was ignored. "What mission?"

He sighed. "Nothing special. Just some looking after grown children that Dragon asked me to." He continued to scoop porridge in his mouth, while there was silent around the table. The revolutionaries exchanged glances that Sabo didn't notice.

"I babysat once," one of the fishmen revealed. "It was tough, for sure. The kid became one of the best in her class."

" Only 'one of the best'? Two children I watched over became leaders for our operations in West Blue."

"That's nothing! I helped train one of the soldiers who escaped a marine prison this year!"

"My kid scored highest at an intelligence test."

"Mine constructed the intelligence test!"

"My student holds the current record in running around Baltigo!"

Sabo looked on in disbelief. "You've turned babysitting into a competition?"

"Of course. The kids are the future. It's only right that we perform our best while looking after them."

Sabo smiled smugly, and stood up. "I just remembered something I have to do. Goodbye, guys."

"Bye. And good luck!" They called out after him.

He swallowed the rest of the breakfast on his way to turn in dishes. "Thanks!"

* * *

"Vi'm glad that vyou changed vyour mind!"

"Yeah, yeah. Where are they?" Sabo tried to sound uninterested, but deep within he was excited over his new task. The okama, that had helped save his life a few years earlier, nocked once before opening the door they were standing in front of.

"In here. Oh, one of the boys are tired after the trip here, but it's nothing to worry about at all."

They came into a room whose design Sabo recognised well, from his first months at Baltigo. The only difference was that this hospital room was larger, and it was crowded. A man sat in one chair, while three children stood spread out in the room. His fourth child, a tiny boy, was laying on the bed, his eyes closed.

Sabo raised a hand. "Hey."

"Good day," the man said, his voice monotonous and professionally polite, making it sound like he was greeting a business partner. Sabo swallowed, but continued to smile as he looked at the children.

There was nothing glorious or heroic, or even impressive about them. A tall, light-skinned girl, clearly the eldest of the siblings, stood leaned against a wall, her eyes directed at the roof and her expression as blank as her father's. The two remaining children, a girl and a boy, seemed to be in about the same age. Neither of them was looking at him - the boy hid his face behind a book, and the girl looked down at the floor, making her hair cover her face, on which only a sharp blush could be seen.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sabo."

"I already know what your name is. And don't pretend it's nice to meet us, you had no choice but to be here, did you?" the man said.

"Eh, actually, I..." his voice trailed off and he looked over his shoulder at Ivankov.

"Sabo-boy volunteered to take this responsibility. Vi assure vyou vyour little darlings are in good hands."

"What he said." Sabo took a breath and stood a little taller.

"Hm. Well, I got work to do so good luck." The ex-marine stood up and brushed past Sabo. He stopped right outside the door. "Would you maybe show me the way?" he told Ivankov, without looking at him.

"Of course." Ivankov patted Sabo's shoulder before leaving.

As he looked back, he saw all children now stared at him. Even the boy in the bed had awoken.

Sabo smiled, and placed his palms against his hips. Trying to sound enthusiastic, he said: "Anyone up for breakfast?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Anyone up for breakfast?"

"Your question is invalid," the boy with the book said.

"What?"

"You asked if we´re up for breakfast. We´re already up, and we´re not having breakfast, so there´s no point in asking."

"Ah, okay. What I meant to say was, are you hungry?"

"Our nutrition levels are normal. Do you request an increase in diet in regard for exigent muscle activity in the near future?"

"Ehrm, I think so?" The boy pulled a paper from his pocket, and handed it to Sabo. "What's this?"

"A list of the possible, and preferred, eatables for each one of us. Give or take 15 % reliability based on current moods and environments."

"What?" Sabo asked again.

"If you're going to assist us, you'll find this information useful. Keep it, I got copies."

Sabo shook his head and put the paper in his pocket. "Guess you don´t want to eat yet. Wanna tell me your names?"

"Naturally." The boy pressed his glasses further up his nose. "I´m Filip." He pointed at the blushing girl next to him. "This is Cecilia. She´s 11 years old."

"H-hello," the girl stuttered. She looked up for a moment.

"Hi," Sabo said, and tried to meet her eyes, but she had already bowed her head even deeper than before, completely covering her face in shadows.

"This is Agnes. She is 13," Filip said and pointed at the girl leaning against the wall.

"Hello," Sabo said and smiled. She made the tiniest nod at him.

"She doesn´t speak much." Filip corrected his glasses once again. "And the small one is Tiger. He´s 7."

Sabo crouched by the bed. "Hi, Tiger." This name was easy to remember. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you." The boy smiled, revealing an empty hole in the row of teeth. "You´re a real warrior?"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Have you ever reached level 15?"

"What do you mean?"

Tiger sat up and waved with his hand, and Filip soon handed him a square, colorful snail. "This game is called ´notorious tale of the fire dragon´. Linus said it´s one of the games with the least propaganda in it, so I brought it here. Look!" Sabo squeezed his eyes to look at the snail, which had a screen with rapidly changing images. Tiger pressed several buttons fast. "To defeat the dragon, you have to find a way to control its fire. At level 15, you´ll fight for the fire amulet..." His words trailed off as he focused completely on the snail toy.

"Ehm, maybe I´ll look later," Sabo mumbled.

"You fight a dragon! How is that not propaganda? The name of the Revolutionaries´ leader is Dragon!" Cecilia angrily bursted out at her brothers. Then she looked at Sabo. "Ah, sorry for yelling," she whispered, and turned away.

"You don´t really have to apologize," Sabo mumbled. "Anyways, do you want me to show you around Baltigo?"

"The wilderness is irrelevant. Although, a tour around the island´s fortress would be practical," Filip said.

"I just have to finish this!" Tiger said. Agnes walked over to the bed and held out her hand, and the boy silently and obediently handed her the toy. "Alright."

"Let´s go!" he said. "I hope you will like it here."

* * *

"And once you´ve gone through this gate, you´ll end up here, at the main courtyard. To the right are, as you maybe remember, the sleeping quarters, and to the left is the material rooms and archives. If you continue on this road ahead, you´ll sooner or later arrive to the sea. Do you want to go there now?"

"I have to go to the toilet," Tiger complained.

"You just went a ten minutes ago. Perhaps you should instead go and have your bladder checked," Cecilia retorted loudly, making the little boy cower slightly. "You´re such a whiner."

"It´s alright, we can go watch the sea after lunch instead," Sabo said.

Filip moved closer to him. "What pastime activities are standard here?"

"What?"

"He wonders what you do for fun," Cecilia explained. Unlike her sister, she spoke often, but she rarely looked at him.

"Oh. Well, we hang out a lot. Spar with each other. Eat, share stories and sometimes parties, when we aren´t on duties or missions."

"Have you been on a lot of missions?" Filip asked.

Sabo noticed that everyone was watching him curiously. Even Agnes had sparks of interest in her eyes.

"A few. I was badly wounded when I first got here, so I had to recover for a while." He pointed at the scar on his face.

"How terrible," Cecilia whispered.

"Yes... but, don't worry about it. Anyways, I have helped out the Revolutionaries on a few occasions."

"Helped out? Aren't you a revolutionary yourself?" Filip said.

"Of course I am!"

"Doesn't sound like it." Filip corrected his glasses once more.

Sabo's smile wavered, and he clenched his teeth together hard. He was beginning to lose his patience with the younger boy. "You comment on everything I say! It's so annoying! Can't you just shut up?!" he yelled.

* * *

"Well, you did the job alright for the first hour."

"I didn't mean to make him cry," Sabo said, while staring down at the floor instead of looking at Dragon.

"You realise I can't let you take care of the children anymore, do you?"

Sabo felt initially happy - not having to take the marine brats everywhere he went was what he wanted, after this morning. But then he remembered the conversation with the soldiers during breakfast. If there was something Sabo hated, it was to admit defeat. He stood up. "I want another chance with them. I _deserve _another chance."

"If that´s how you feel, talk to the children. Ask what they want." Dragon lowered his head over some documents, and Sabo understood that was his cue to leave. But before he went through the door, the leader spoke again. "Four is not a small number. I sent another person to help you out. She should arrive shortly."

"She?"

The door opened right before Sabo. In strolled a short, brown-haired girl. She threw one look at him before she ignored him. "Hello," she said to Dragon.

A cold suspicion grew in his stomach. "What is she doing here?"

"Koala has been excused from training due to an injury. She agreed to help you."

She shivered. "Wait, I have to work with _him_? I didn´t know that!"

"I have to work with _her_?!"

"Good that you´re acquainted with each other. You may go."

"But... no!" Koala said.

"That´s my line!"

She shook her head. "This is ridiculous. We can´t work together."

"You´re both Revolutionaries. You´re part of the same team, cooperation is to be expected. Now, I have got things to do, so..." Dragon waved his hand, and they had no choice but to leave.

He held the door for her. "After you."

"No, ladies first," she retorted.

"What the..."

"Go." A small wind passed through the room. They rushed through the door at the same time, bumping into each other.

"Distance, please." She waved with her hand in front of her face. "Gosh, when was the last time you showered?"

"I´ve been very busy!"

Inside the room, Dragon smirked to himself. "This´ll be interesting."

* * *

Some minutes later, they had joined the children, who were waiting in a nearby room. Sabo looked directly at Filip, who wasn't crying anymore, but there were still red marks below his eyes.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Sabo walked towards him, and held out his hand. But before he reached him, Agnes stepped in between him and Filip. She stared at him angrily, and wouldn't let him take another step. "I'm sorry, okay? I won't lose my temper again."

"Good luck with that," Koala muttered.

He turned towards her. "Why are you still here?"

She sighed. "We came to get another chance to look after you. Because this blonde idiot made a fool of himself."

"I could consider a second chance. But only if I know a little more. What is your experience of children caretaking?" Filip asked.

"I know everything there is to know about it," Koala said, confidence in her voice.

"I do too," Sabo said.

"Have you ever taken similar duties like this one?"

"No, I haven't... but I was taken care of well when I was a child!" Koala said.

"I didn't need looking after when I was younger. I took good care of myself."

"Sure you did. If you had better parents to look after you, you might have become a normal person."

"I'm not normal now?"

"You grew up on your own?" Cecilia asked.

"Not exactly. I lived with my brothers. And some mountain bandits looked after us. Well, at least they tried..."

"Sure you did." Koala rolled her eyes. "I was raised by pirates. It might sound as bad as bandits, but they were the kindest people I have ever met."

Pirates? Sabo wondered, and looked at her curiously, until she noticed his gaze.

"What?" she snarled.

He quickly became annoyed again, which also showed on his face. "Nothing! I don´t care!"

"So you grew up with criminals? That explains a lot of things, actually," Filip mumbled.

"I'm hungry!" Tiger yelled.

"Be a little patient, would you?!" Cecilia half-shouted.

"So we have to choose between you two or other babysitters?" Filip asked. He and Koala nodded. "Give us some minutes. We have to discuss what to do, right?"

"Fine, go ahead."

The four children rose from the couches they'd been sitting on, and went to the other side of the room, where they stood in a circle, heads close together.

"They're really weird, and violent and potentially dangerous, but if we don't pick them we might get an even more eccentric person to look after us," Filip spoke in a low voice.

"Like the big she-guy! But he was funny."

"It doesn't sound nice to say 'she-guy', Tiger," Cecilia reprimanded.

"But he is!"

"Argh!"

"Be quieter! They're watching us! Anyways, they fight with each other a lot, which is advantageous for us. I suggest we take off when we have the chance. We´ll do better on our own. What do you say?"

"You´re so childish! I´m staying with Sabo-san," Cecilia said.

"And the girl."

"Yeah, her too..."

"Tiger, do you want to stay with the Revolutionaries?"

"No! I want to go with you, Filip."

"Okay, good. Are you coming too, Agnes?" The older girl nodded. "Then, let's go announce our decision."


	3. Chapter 3

"Where did you get injured?" Sabo asked.

"What?"

"Dragon said you got hurt when training. But what did you do exactly?"

"A broken wrist." Koala stretched out her right arm, making him notice the bandages for the first time.

"That's very serious."

"No, it's not."

"I disagree. You should go and rest, and leave this job to me."

"I'd love to. Except you're unqualified to do this alone!"

"What do you mean 'unqualified?"

"You made a little boy cry!"

"How do you know that?"

"Dragon told me."

"Well, you weren't there, so don't judge me!"

She jumped to her feet. "Listen..."

"Calm down! We want to stay with you." Filip, along with siblings, returned to them, after their little chat.

Sabo smiled. "Super! I won't disappoint you again. So, what do you want to do?"

"Will we have lunch now?" Tiger asked.

"Sure."

"Wait! I still don't know your names, and you don't know mine. We should introduce ourselves first," Koala said.

* * *

The group of six people were heading towards the dining hall together.

Cecilia caught up to Sabo, who was walking in the lead. "These corridors are wide enough for two persons."

"Yes, so?" Sabo said.

"W-well, where I went in school before, we would always go in pairs to lunch."

"Oh. But this isn't a school."

"Would you mind if I walked with you, Sabo-san?"

"No, do whatever you want."

She quickly pulled a hand through his arm. Sabo tensed, as he instinctively wanted to pull his arm free, but then relaxed again. Cecilia let out a small, satisfied sigh.

A few meters behind them, Koala was conversing with Filip. "You never said how old you are," she said.

"No, I didn't."

She waited a little, but he said nothing more. "Well?"

"What?"

"How old are you?"

He sighed, and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Age is a subject of small matter, mostly important to those who live in a shallow existence. If you want to know something about me, I'd rather tell you my IQ. It's 130. Although perhaps it is too much to ask that a teenage criminal such as yourself would be familiar with the scale."

"Never mind I asked..."

They entered the wide yard that surrounded the dining hall, and walked over the grass as it was the quickest way. "Isn't this nice? And look at those flowers!" Cecilia pointed at a flowerbed that hadn't been removed from the lawn. "They look so colorful and exotic! Do you know what they're called?"

"No," he muttered. He turned his head to see that she was smiling up at him. Her earlier shyness towards him seemed gone, and he didn't know if he liked the change. "Excuse me." He shook his arm free and hurried forward, making Cecilia pout slightly.

Koala slowed dow to walk beside Tiger, who held Agnes' s hand. "I like your name," she told him.

He grinned happily. "Thank you!"

"I knew someone else, whose name also was Tiger. He was a really great person."

Tiger stopped, and his smile disappeared in an instant. "What's that?" he bursted. Koala ssw where he was pointing.

"Hack. He's a fishman."

"And what's that?"

"A fishman."

"And that over there?"

"_Also_ a fishman."

"But, they have fins!" He pulled closer to Agnes, who patted his back. "They're scary! I wanna go away!"

Koala caught up with Sabo by the dining hall doors. He couldn't help but grin victoriously as she passed him. "You look like you want to hit something. Are you not getting along well with the children?"

"Oh, shut up!"

* * *

Author's note: In this story, Sabo is 14 and Koala 15.


End file.
